In this scenario, the Volume Activation and Management Tool (VAMT) is used to activate Key Management Service (KMS) clients on either Core Network or Isolated Lab computers. By default, volume license editions of Windows Vista®, Windows® 7, Windows Server® 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2, and Microsoft® Office 2010 use KMS for activation. KMS client keys are already installed in volume license editions of these products. You do not need to enter a key to activate a product as a KMS client, unless you are converting a MAK-activated product to KMS activation. For more information, see Install a KMS Client Key.
The procedure described below assumes the following:
- The KMS Service is enabled and accessible by
all KMS clients.
- The VAMT has been installed and computers
have been added to the Computer Information List (CIL). See Steps 1
through 4 in either Scenario 1: MAK online
activation or Scenario 2: MAK proxy
activation for more information.
- Open the VAMT Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in.
- Select the product(s) to be activated by selecting individual
products in the product list in the center pane.
- Right-click the selected product(s) to display the
context-sensitive Actions menu, or choose from the
Action menu on the top menu bar, or choose from the
Selected Items menu from the right-hand pane.
- On the menu, click Activate and then KMS
Activation to display the Configure KMS host and port
dialog box.
- Select one of the two activation options:
- Auto-Discover KMS host using DNS. VAMT
will instruct the computer to query the Domain Name Service (DNS)
to locate a KMS host and attempt activation. If the client contains
a registry key with a valid KMS host, that value will be used
instead.
- Use specific KMS host and port. For
environments which do not use DNS for KMS host identification, VAMT
will set the specified KMS host name and KMS host port on the
target computer, and then instruct the computer to attempt
activation with the specific KMS host.
- Auto-Discover KMS host using DNS. VAMT
will instruct the computer to query the Domain Name Service (DNS)
to locate a KMS host and attempt activation. If the client contains
a registry key with a valid KMS host, that value will be used
instead.
- If you are activating products that require administrator
credentials different from the ones you are currently using, select
the Use Alternate Credentials check box.
- Click OK.
- The VAMT will display the Activating products dialog box
until it completes the requested action. If you selected the
Alternate Credentials option, you will be prompted to enter
the credentials prior to this dialog.